Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden met with the media, per usual, on Tuesday night. He discussed elements of the 44-21 win over UNLV, and looked ahead to Saturday's road test at No. 16 Syracuse. Here's everything he had to say:
Q: What’s the identity of the ACC?
Golden: “A lot of great academic schools, a lot of rich tradition. Obviously, schools that pride themselves on their tradition, and the tradition of the conference. So that leads into Syracuse, right? You go up there playing (in) the dome. It's a unique atmosphere and it's a unique environment. Obviously, they’ve got them going right now, so it's going to be a great challenge for us.”
Q: Nobody here has played there. What can you tell them about what that environment, what the atmosphere Saturday is going to be like?
Golden: “It can get hot, so you have to hydrate. You can't let cramps or anything like that become a factor. But I've seen teams go in there and have that struggle. Communication can be a challenge. So, you have to really just plan for it every day. You just minimize the impact that it has on your squad. Those would be the two things and, obviously, we're ready for a fight.”
Q: Marcus Freeman told us (Monday) about kind of priding yourself on being simpler in the red zone. What's the philosophy of what you guys want to do there and how you want to go simpler there?
Golden: “I think the biggest thing is we're getting a lot of wins and then we're not winning the fourth down, the money down. And really, going back to BYU, put them in a situation on fourth down and then (we) lost it there and then, obviously, in the pass game, too.
“So, I’ve got to do a better job making a better call in that situation. Either force field goals or, in the case of the UNLV game, just flat-out stops. Obviously, one was a scramble that we had like five shots at and then the other one we had a chance for another stop on the 1-yard line. So, yeah, I think we're always trying to — simpler means just minimize errors. And so whatever we have to do to do that and get a positive play, that’ll help us in the long run.”
Q: When you've gone back and looked at some of the red-zone possessions throughout the year, where most of them ended in touchdowns, what have you found?
Golden: “I mean, we need couple of stops. We need a couple of stops, and we haven't really gotten a turnover down there. So, we need a couple of turnovers. (With) two stops and two turnovers, it's a different animal. So, again, it's not it's not like we're giving up 35 points a game. We're doing a good job of keeping guys out of there.
“We must do a better job when we're in there, no doubt. That starts with me. So, I’ve got to put the guys in a better play call, give them something that they can execute better than they have been. And then we have to take the ball away. We haven't done that yet in a low red for sure.”
Q: What are the problems Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader presents?
Golden: “They're using him in a way that is really impactful for the young man. He's making a difference. He's got a big strong arm. He's not afraid to sit in the pocket. But he can create on the move anytime he wants, so he can get out of the pocket. He's really good as a runner. And he's a big man.
“So, just imagine like, you name it, Mitch Evans or whoever, just imagine a tight end-sized guy running the ball. I mean, that's what you're dealing with. So, I give him a lot of credit. He really, really plays hard and he doesn't shy away from contact. So, he's done a great job to this point.”
Q: He may be quicker than North Carolina QB Drake Maye. Is he quicker?
Golden: “I don't know. He's certainly bigger and a little bit different style of runner —physical, downhill runner. He'll spin on contact. He's got a very good stiff-arm, and (they) use him a little bit different. There's some lead blockers sometimes on him, which causes some issues, but I think what they're doing with him is fantastic for them, and he's proven worthy of it for sure.”
Q: With no Bo Bauer, how do you feel about your linebacker depth? And is there anybody on the horizon that might be able to help?
Golden: “Yeah, we just keep pushing Jaylen Sneed. I think that's the guy that needs to come on here down the stretch. He was really close last Saturday. We had a rash of injuries there. Jack (Kiser) goes down. PK (Prince Kollie) is on the ground, and I turned to coach (James) Laurinaitis and said, ‘Make sure you get Jaylen ready to go.’ So, we were really close last week. Jaylen's got to keep pushing and learning, but he would be the next guy up.”
Q: Isaiah Foskey had such an impactful game. Have you seen the same Isaiah this week in practice?
Golden: “No doubt. I think so. I think Isaiah’s been our defensive player of the game for two games, and he really could have been for a third game. He's put a nice little string together here, and we're going to need him this week. The edge is tested consistently (by Syracuse), whether it's the pass game, the perimeter screens, the read series or the option series or the counter series. Whether the quarterback’s to you or away from you, based on the action of the O-line. It's going to be a great challenge for all the guys that play the edge, and we need Isaiah to really step up.”
Q: With JD Bertrand and the targeting issue that keeps coming up, what do you do to adjust?
Golden: “Whatever you’ve got to do to stay in the strike zone, just stay out of the gray area. It's not going to go your way. I was scared to death the other day. Jack (Kiser) was next to us. PK (Prince Kollie) was hurt. And so, when that happened, it was interesting, for sure.”
Q: Is there anything that he should be adjusting or he just has to play and hope for the best?
Golden: “Look, I always tell the guys, my son plays football, too. I want him to hit in the strike zone, use their shoulder, have their eyes up, have their cleats in the ground. And that's what we're teaching him. Sometimes it's a physical game. So, sometimes that happens, but some of those plays are bang-bang. Both guys are going for the ball. So, if you have your cleats in the ground, you have your eyes up and you’re trying to hit in the strike zone, then positive things will happen.”
Q: Do you have Brandon Joseph back at full strength this week? And what do you need from him?
Golden: “I think so. Again, that was pretty scary there in the second half — B-Joe, X (Xavier Watts), (TaRiq) Bracy and Jack (Kiser) all on the sidelines, so we were kind of running out of guys. Guys are getting nicked up a little bit, so (I) expect all those guys to be ready to go. I don't see anything that would hold any of them back.”
Q: How is Brandon Joseph? I think we just expected to make more plays on the ball.
Golden: “I don't know. I think maybe they were playing a little bit more zone where they were, a little bit more coverage. We're a little bit more man-oriented. So, that part might be a little bit different, but he's made an impact for us and, hopefully, he'll be healthy this week. And we're going to need it. They’ve got vertical threats. They’ve got a great tailback, and a quarterback who’s playing really, really well.”
Q: You mentioned Isaiah Foskey as the player of the game and it could have been three times. I think people watching him go, “Oh, it’s just sacks.’ Which is kind of ridiculous. But where is he better as the season has gone on or better than where he was in the spring if you take the sacks out of it?
Golden: “Better at the point of attack, for sure. I feel like he's got positive footwork at the point of attack. He's not displacing laterally. He's gaining ground, what we call getting your second foot in the ground, which is not easy when you're trying to change habits or break habits or create better habits. And, as you get older, sometimes you have to really retool it. And he's done a great job of really trying to do that. So, I think that's one area that he’s made a lot of strides.”
Q: Do you think it’s in-season improvement? Like he's better in late October than he was in early September?
Golden: “No doubt. No doubt.”
Q: Just because of the retraining?
Golden: “No doubt, and he also played in a three-point stance a lot the other day. I don’t know if you guys noticed that, but he ended up playing in three-point a lot. And I'm glad, because it really reinforces him coming out of his hips, getting his second foot in the ground and being positive.”
Q: What do see from Syracuse running back Sean Tucker? How does he really stress a defense, since he’s also involved in the passing game?
Golden: “We were talking about it today. He reminds me of Gio Bernard, who we had in Cincinnati — good long speed, shifty in the middle, the ability to bounce it and get to the edge, but can lower his pads at any point. There's a lot of times where he's on the sideline and you think he's going to duck out of bounds — and he doesn't.
“And I think he might be the best that we've seen. I mean, he is that good, because he's complete. On third down, he's a matchup problem out of the backfield, whether it's the angle route or the wheels, they can displace him. You can run screens with him, so he is a really, really talented back.”
Q: Can I ask you about four guys kind of on the back burner — Joshua Burnham, Aiden Gobaira, Tyson Ford and Donovan Hinish — how they've developed?
Golden: “Yeah, Burnham is playing a lot of special teams for us, so he's been on the bus all year, and I’ve really liked the way he's developing. He's a very long kid. He's going to be big. He's going to be a 260-pounder. Gobaira is doing good. Scout work right now. But same thing, the weight room has really helped him.
“Tyson is long for an inside guy. And he's going to be really a big strong, physical kid. He's doing what he needs to do right now. He needs to go battle against that O-line every day on the scout team. And Hinish is doing the same thing. Hinish is more of the nose, the shade player, but all those guys are benefiting from the reps (on) the scout team. And Burnham has been good enough to play on special teams.”
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